A few years ago (too many to be able to track down the source again, curses!) I came across a reference to writing a decent poem essentially coming down to “a good first line, plus hard work”. An interesting assertion, and the focus of today’s waffle. Lets begin with some definitions, courtesy of Wikipedia: “Incipit” is a Latin word meaning …
“Loss” by Helen Bascand
Loss It takes years to understand how thought reached out, pulled down the blind, folded the sheets, stacked them with lavender in some spare cupboard. You are not the only bereft, they say. I do not want unused sheets, closed doors, last year’s scented bags that smell of dust. I do not want the husk …
The Trouble with Teaching
Lets start with a quote from the late Terry Pratchett, that quite neatly sums this post up: Getting an education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs, and then you had the urge to pass it on.” ― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather And there’s the problem. Since …
I’m a Best New Zealand poem!
Hooray! My astronaut poem, Earthrise, has been chosen by Vincent O’Sullivan for Best New Zealand Poems 2014! You can see it (and all the others) here. (Go take a look. It’s a great resource.) I’m feeling quite chuffed about it. I had a lovely time writing it, and doing research around the first forays into space. …
The Last Post (… well, for this year)
Well here we are, the end of another year gradually tattered and worn away to the frayed ends of its tapestry (and the usually-invisible-but-probably-essential polyesterish filaments that give the whole thing some chance of making it through a whole twelve months). (Probably not my best analogy, but then I’m married to a textile technologist.) It’s been …
A Dark Feathered Art 